Levi West graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology. He returned to Arizona State University and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Sustainability Leadership. He is a recipient of the Jones-Bowman Leadership award, a culturally based leadership program. Levi is a proud member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and resides in Cherokee North Carolina with his wife and three children. In his current role he serves his tribe as a leadership specialist for the Cherokee Youth Council Program as well as a Youth Cultural Exchange Program. Both programs are for youth grades 9-12 interested in gaining cultural knowledge through activities, interactions, volunteer work in the community and travel opportunities. He plans to continue to learn, preserve, and teach Cherokee culture through work and his personal life.

Jennifer Byram is a Ph.D. student in Archaeology in the School of Anthropology. She received an MSc. from the University of Oxford in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology in 2015 and a B.A. from Franklin University Switzerland in Visual & Communication Arts and French Studies in 2014. Jennifer is originally from Chicago and previously worked for six years for her tribe as a Research Associate in the Choctaw Nation Historic Preservation department. There she started the Choctaw Traditional Textiles community, shared research on Choctaw history and materiality through various public outreach venues, and facilitated collaborations with tribal, domestic, and international museums.

Gabrielle Ruso is currently a graduate student at the University of Missouri where she is working on a PhD project investigating the potential effects of atmospherically-drifting agricultural contaminants on alpine lake ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada, CA. She received her B.S. in wildlife biology from Humboldt State University in 2015, and M.S. in Ecotoxicology from the University of Saskatchewan in 2019. Between her time in school, she has worked for several agencies on efforts that involve aquatic ecology and invasive species. Throughout her career, she has developed a strong interest in data science, especially with respect to managing and exploring long-term datasets. She plans to pursue a career in this direction, integrating data science and natural resources.

Joshua Toran III is from Augusta, GA. He is currently a first-year Ph.D. student in the Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication program at the University of Georgia. He obtained his B.S.A. in Agricultural and Applied Economics in May 2020 from the University of Georgia and his M.A.E.E. in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication in December 2021 from the University of Georgia. During his journey at the University of Georgia, Joshua has served as President of the University of Georgia Chapter of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences, Vice President of Operations of the Black Male Leadership Society, a Resident Assistant, Continuing the Legacy of African-American Student Success (C.L.A.S.S.) Advocate for University Housing, as well as a Georgia African American Male Experience (GAAME) Ambassador. His career goals include enacting transformational change within food systems for urban and minority communities through youth development, political engagement, business ownership, and philanthropy. In his free time, Joshua enjoys staying active in the gym, watching movies, and traveling with family and friends.

David grew up in the lower Rio Grande Valley in the small town of Harlingen, Texas. As a kid, David spent most of his time with his family at the nearby Santa Ana and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuges. These were important places for him that would later inspire him to change career paths and go back to school for his second degree in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences. David also attributes his new career goals to his two year tenure with the Peace Corps in Ecuador where he served as a natural resources conservation volunteer from 2013 to 2015.

Danielle De La Pascua is a PhD student studying Population Biology at UC Davis, where they are studying how plants evolve to defend themselves against herbivores, and how these defense responses and interactions may be changing under climate change. Their study system includes native plants across the state of California, where Danielle is hoping to stay and pivot from basic science into a career in conservation.

Felicia Aasand currently attends Oregon State University as a Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences major. At 25, Felicia started snowboarding and hiking, which later introduced her to backpacking and mountaineering - igniting a passion for the outdoors. Her goal is to work outdoors conserving ecosystems and biodiversity, whether my future work is focused on education and community outreach, fish conservation and management, wildlife conservation and management, habitat restoration, or general ecology. 

Keeley Lanigan is a graduate student at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) pursuing a master's degree in biology, where she earned a bachelor's degree in ecology, behavior, and evolution from last year. Keeley is studying the diet of Sidewinder rattlesnakes and plans to be a wildlife biologist in the future.

In 2018, Margaret Mackinlay graduated from Colorado College with a degree in Organismal Biology and Ecology and a newfound love for ornithology. While she worked an assortment of jobs in the years after, including leading week-long hiking and biking trips in North and South America and interning at Sam Wasser's wolf conservation lab at University of Washington, she returned to studying birds in 2021 as a master's student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. Her current thesis work focuses on how noise and light pollution impacts bird movement and evolution. After she completes her degree in fall 2023, she plans to continue using her passion for data science and data visualization to learn more about wildlife and advocate for their conservation.

Rodé grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She left home during her senior year of high school to train for a career as a professional ballet dancer. After two years of training, Rodé got offered her first professional contract and went on to have a 7 year career, which ended in Portland, OR. While dancing, Rodé enrolled in college part-time, which she then pursued full-time at Portland State University after retirement from her dance career. She is currently studying how beavers affect native turtle habitat in Oregon and plans to graduate in January 2024. Last summer, Rodé received an opportunity to intern with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Her experience with ODFW instilled an appreciation for wildlife research, and she is excited to continue on this journey with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this summer.